1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a microwave oven, and in particular to an air circulation structure for a microwave oven which is capable of effectively radiating heat from electrical elements and dehumidifying from a cooking chamber by enabling an effective easier air circulation in a microwave oven having a machinery compartment below the cooking chamber.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
Generally, the microwave oven is directed to cooking foods using microwaves generated by a microwave generation source and is formed of a door, a cooking chamber in which foods are cooked, and a machinery compartment having various elements therein.
In the thusly constituted microwave oven, an air circulation structure is formed for quickly radiating heat from a magnetron and a high voltage transformer installed in the machinery compartment and externally introducing air into the interior of the microwave oven for discharging a high temperature vapor generated in the interior of the cooking chamber during a cooking operation to the outside.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the conventional air circulation structure for a microwave oven, a suction guide member 7 sucking air from the outside of the microwave oven is formed on an inner surface of a back plate 4, and a fan 8 sucking air from the outside of the microwave oven is installed at the suction guide member 7.
The fan 6 generating a predetermined suction force for sucking air from the outside of the microwave oven is driven by a fan motor 6M.
In addition, in the machinery compartment 11 formed on an outer lateral surface of a cavity 1, an air duct 8 is installed for guiding the external air cooled the magnetron 9 into the interior of the cooking chamber 3.
In the drawings, reference numeral 2 represents a door, 5 represents an air suction port, and 10 represents a high voltage transformer.
The air circulation by the air circulation structure for a conventional microwave oven will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the air circulation structure for a conventional microwave oven, when the fan motor 6M is driven for thereby rotating the fan 6 and then generating a predetermined suction force, air is introduced into the interior of the microwave oven through the air suction port 5 formed in the back plate 4.
The air introduced into the interior of the microwave oven is guided by the suction guide member 7 formed on the inner surface of the back plate 4 and is flown to the magnetron 9 and the high voltage transformer 10 for thereby cooling the magnetron 9 and the high voltage transformer 10, and then is flown into the interior of the cooking chamber 3 through the air duct 8.
The air flown into the interior of the cooking chamber 3 is discharged, together with the vapor in the cooking chamber 3, to the outside of the cooking chamber 3 for thereby removing vapor from the cooking chamber 3.
However, since the air circulation structure for the conventional microwave oven includes a machinery compartment provided on a lateral surface of the microwave oven, the conventional air circulation structure is not applicable for the microwave oven formed in various structures.